Memories
by laadeedah6
Summary: A missing scene that I thought might work in the Season 1 episode "After Hours" - edited and re-posted.


_**A one shot that takes place after season 1 episode 10 "After Hours".**_

Frank left the room quietly as Jamie sat staring at the empty chair.

"Keep trusting your gut." The words were good to hear, but he almost needed more. His dad, while he loved Jamie, seemed to not know what to say a lot of the time. Still his reassurance was helpful.

Jamie blinked and began to feel that too familiar throb behind his eyes. He knew he had to go and escape to the privacy of the Chevelle before things got out of hand. He rubbed his eyes, and quickly stood up. "Bye Pop! See ya Dad!" He called out to the rather empty house. He walked quickly to his car, got in, and sat there for a minute then turned on the car. He knew where he had to go.

The memories came flooding back. His mom lay in her hospital bed in her room as he and she talked about Sydney. "Is she good to you Jamie? Does she make you want to be a better person?"

"Oh mom, she is incredible," Jamie grinned. "She is everything I have ever wanted in a wife. She is kind, loving, and smart. She cares about the environment."

"And not to mention incredibly beautiful, am I right?" his mother teased as she smiled back at her son.

Jamie blushed as he looked down, "Well you have met her, and I guess you are entitled to an opinion."

His mom lifted a hand to his cheek turning his face towards her. "Jamie, if this relationship is going where I think it is going, I want you to have my wedding ring. I have a feeling I won't be needing it." Tears slowly trickled down her cheek, running over her ever present smile.

Jamie forced a smile and carefully wiped away her tears, "Aw come on, what are you talking about? We will want to wait for you to get better before we make any plans." His mom smiled weakly and said, "Okay." She then closed her eyes and lay back on her pillows. Jamie just held his mom's hand and sat there, tears quietly falling from his eyes. Jamie felt, rather than heard, his father's presence as he entered the room and put a hand on Jamie's shoulder. He leaned into his quiet strength and heard the familiar sigh escape his dad.

As the Chevelle pulled into the dark cemetery and he saw the shadowy headstones, Jamie carefully parked his car. He shoved his hands into his pockets and walked over to the familiar place where his brother's headstone glowed eerily in the moonlight.

"Joe! Joe! I did it!" Jamie shouted into the phone.

"Whoa big guy!" Joe answered, "Just a sec…(murmuring in the background)."

Jamie knew it was probably an inconvenient time to be calling, but he was uncharacteristically excited.

"Okay man, what did you do?" Joe was back.

"I did it, I asked Sydney to marry me! And she actually said yes!" What was it about talking to Joe that made him feel like a 10 year old kid again? He knew Joe would understand.

"Way to go! That is fantastic man! I knew you two would be amazing together. Bring her on down to NYC so Angela and I can go to dinner with you two to celebrate!"

"Will do! Now I gotta call Dad and the rest of the family. But I wanted to tell you first. And don't tell Danny, you are definitely going to be my best man." Jamie could almost hear Joe's grin on the other side.

"Wow, I am so honored! I know mom would be so proud of you." Jamie could hear his brother's smile over the phone. "Take care, love ya brother!" and the phone went dead.

Jamie sat there on the cold ground pulling at random pieces of grass. The headstones stood sentry in the darkness. It was kind of comforting in a strange way, like they were guarding him from some unidentified threat.

Jamie knew he had made the right choice to be a cop. He also knew that he loved Sydney, but she had to understand there were going to be parts of his job that would take a part of him from her. Linda understood that. Heck even Erin understood that, but Sydney never did. Would she have understood what he was trying to do for Joe? He also wanted to keep her safe so sharing any of that would be out of the question. If his mom had been there, maybe she could have seen the warning signs and helped them both navigate this new relationship. However he knew his mom didn't want him to be a cop in the first place. The realization made him grin at the irony.

Jamie jumped when his alarm went off, he had somewhere to be. He shook his head, rubbed his eyes, and shook out his limbs. He headed purposefully towards his car. He paused for a moment and looked back at the sentries that stood before him, he felt the impression that maybe the best was yet to come. He smiled and knew it would eventually be okay. He had to channel his emotions, and his gut, into something productive and get some answers about Joe.


End file.
